


curiosity led the cat

by amazonia (orphan_account)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Cats, Homesickness, M/M, Pets, fairly jisung-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 22:49:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14681070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/amazonia
Summary: jisung's new friend helps him get adjusted to his new home-away-from-home, along with some nice people.





	curiosity led the cat

**Author's Note:**

> i whipped this up in a couple hours so its hella unbeta'd ha
> 
> this is mainly for my tumblr, just a cute lil oneshot for fun yknow 
> 
> (hmu at dowoonhtml !)

Jisung was originally terrified at the thought of university.

He and his family were very close, open about their thoughts and feelings. Even his thrill-seeking elder brother called in from wherever to pipe in on the family discussions, which ranged from which plants better suited the kitchen to which cousin should have kids first.

His family was his home and Jisung wasn’t entirely sure about leaving them.

The nervous feeling loomed inside of him throughout the end of his 3rd year. Jisung didn’t even consider how integrated the 3 of them were into each other’s lives; his parents came home late on Mondays and Wednesdays, so who would make dinner? Who would help his dad clean the house before his mom returned from errands (since Lord knows the man cannot do it himself)?

Jisung wasn’t good at hiding his worries - his naturally cheerful and energetic atmosphere became quiet and humble. His parents tried to coax it out of him, but he didn’t budge. Until he first moved into his dorm.

“What do you think, Jisunngie-ah?” His dad asked, dropping a laundry bin of clothes on the bare mattress. The dorm room was larger than what he expected it to be (from his older brother, so he honestly should’ve expected more); Jisung’s toes didn’t poke over the ends of the mattress and they had a decent view of the campus.

The boy nervously turned around to face his parents. It was far too late to tell them that he already missed home; that there was a weird feeling in his stomach while sitting on a bed that wasn’t his, that it was strange seeing another bed in the room that wasn’t his brother’s.

“I….I don’t know if I can get used to it here,” Jisung muttered aloud, not turning to face his eager parents. “Hyeon-hyung is always saying how university is such an adventure but…I’m nervous.”

He’s never felt more embarrassed - the three of them put through so much effort so Jisung could get into a good school in Busan, only to realize that he’s scared.

Jisung didn’t know he was trembling until he felt his mother’s warm hand hold his own. She smiled at and brushed his hair out of his face slowly.

“We know how scary it can be starting life on your own, especially when we won’t always be there beside you.” His mother soothed, turning Jisung to face his father.

“So, we found you a friend to help you along the way,” his father finished with a grin and reached over the side of the covered bed to pull out a small crate with small holes in the sides. As the boy took the crate into his arm, a small fuzzy head poked out of the top and meowed at the trio surrounding her.

Jisung let out the highest squeal humanly possible.

“KITTY!” He shrieked, gently lifting the small feline out of the crate and cradling her in his arms. All the fear and anxiety built up in Jisung’s chest slowly melted away as the kitten mewed and licked his finger.

Jisung looked back at his parents as he heard his mother clear her throat. “Now, pets aren’t entirely allowed in this dorm, but we’ll that between us, okay?” His father winked, prompting Jisung to giggle.

“We know you’ll take good care of her, just don’t forget to take care of yourself too,” His mom reminded him. Jisung eagerly nodded before redirecting his attention to the kitten that was now nipping his finger.

Jisung loved cats, especially their family tabby, Toby. Toby was much older than Jisung, and he passed away before the boy could turn 8. It was a heartbreaking moment, and he and his brother have been begging for another one ever since. (Even though Hyeonsung got 3 as soon as he moved out. Where did he even get them?)

 

Surprisingly, Jisung’s first week went smooth. He and his roommate, Felix, instantly hit it off; Felix was a foreign student from Australia, but Jisung couldn’t tell until he answered his phone in swift English. He too felt the anxiety of being in a completely new atmosphere, but the two were happy to support each other.

His classes were a blend of music and film classes - his favorites - along with his required of math, literature and a science (biology looked like the easiest, god was he wrong). Jisung quickly found study buddies in each class, feeling at ease by starting new friendships.

And nothing completed his day than seeing little Chijeu meowing happily on his bed when he returned home before engaging in hours-long cuddle session - sometimes with Felix (good thing he wasn’t allergic).

Every day, he cracked open their window to let Chijeu get air before leaving the dorm, as he left a while after Felix; usually due to morning dance practices or crazy early breakfasts. He was the first to get back to the dorm as well so he fed the kitten before grabbing dinner for himself.

But one fateful Thursday afternoon, Jisung saw to his horror that their dorm room was cracked open.

His literature professor canceled their class due to catching the flu. Literature was his last of 3 classes on Thursdays, so Jisung was excited to return home to Chijeu and stream the new horror movie he had heard from Changbin, his friend in his music composition class.

But instead of a meowing cat, Jisung found a frantic Felix searching under his bed. “Felix-ah, did you lose something?” He asked the busy blonde, dropping his backpack at the foot of his own bed.

Felix looked up at Jisung with a guilty expression. No words had to be exchanged for Jisung to realize what had occurred. “No,” he barely mumbled, stepping backward to sit back on his bed.

“I’m really really sorry, Jisung-ah. But Chijeu is so tiny, I lost sight of her while checking something down the hall,” Felix apologized, bowing repeatedly in front of Jisung.

Jisung shook his head and stood up to pat Felix on the back. He knew how much his roommate loved the kitten; they jokingly called her their daughter. “We’ll find her. A lot of other students are out, so their rooms should be empty to check,” Jisung suggested.

The two boys searched around their floor, exploring any open rooms to find Jisung’s stranded orange kitten. Jisung was starting to panic and return to his room when he passed an open dorm room; out of his peripheral vision, he saw a lump of clothes shift away.

He knocked twice on the open door before entering the dorm room. It was painted a bright blue with clothes scattered all around. Posters of handsome idols lined the walls above the beds and it smelt something like strawberries.

As Jisung scanned the room, the small lump of clothes shift around and he dived for the moving mount. Jisung left out the biggest sigh of relief when Chijeu jumped onto his shoulders to nibble on his ear.

“Jesus, don’t scare me like that,” he scolded, rising off the pile of clothes and leaving the room before anyone could pass by and get the wrong idea. Felix looked like he was about to break down until he saw Chijeu sit on Jisung’s bent arm.

“Wait, where did she get that?” Felix asked, pointing to a pale pink fabric in the kitten’s mouth. As soon as the boy pulled it out, he yelled and threw it outside. Jisung only took a glimpse before cringing himself and kicking the door close in defense.

To make sure she wouldn’t escape again, Jisung bought a medium-sized crate that was nearly triple her size to hold Chijeu while alone in the room.

All was at peace - until Jisung actually got assignments.

The boy regularly stayed up to midnight, studying and revising his work in preparation for his deadlines. Both he and Felix were impossible procrastinators, so the duo spent many nights surrounded by scattered papers, tea (coffee would make them explode - they were naturally hyper and an assortment of chicken chip flavors.

It was during this time that Chijeu was out of her crate and wandered the halls of the floor.

Everyone on the floor has become acquainted with Jisung and Chijeu one way or another (especially the cute 2nd from around the corner). Many adored her, some were allergic but still loved her and others were just dog people - but thankfully all of them, kept quiet about the no-pets-in-dorms rule should the occasion arise.

Chijeu was a naturally curious kitten; whenever Jisung released her from her crate, she always brought him a trinket from her little expeditions. Sure it was cute, but it quickly sparked a problem -

Chijeu stoke underwear.

Maybe it was the patterns, maybe it was the smells, but whenever Chijeu returned to Jisung’s dorm room, she brought a new pair of underwear. By the time it was mid-November, Jisung had to place a bin in the laundry room concerning the “stolen underwear from floor 5”.

It was a curse, but also in Jisung’s case, a blessing.

Jisung had stayed out a little later to get coffees with Changbin while discussing their respective projects for music composition. “I still haven’t settled on a chorus, I feel like I should make it minor so it stands out a bit. It’s already in major 3rd,” Changbin rambled on excitedly.

Changbin’s passion for music was quite entertaining to watch. The guy could get lost for hours talking about cadences and chord progressions from commercial jingles.

“Oh, hey it’s your boyfriend,” Changbin commented while nodding towards the door. His sudden observation startled Jisung, causing the boy to nearly spill his tea and turn towards the door for a glance. He returned his gaze with a faint blush while taking another sip of tea.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

Changbin just rolled his eyes. “Why didn’t you say hi?” Jisung just waved him off. “He lives on my floor, I see him everyday.”

“He probably interested.”

“Jesus, are we 12? If he’s interested, he can talk to me,” Jisung finished, slightly irritated. There was no denying that Jisung was extra friendly around the 2nd year dance major who lived on his floor. Not like he could help it; Minho-ssi was fairly flirty himself.

“I swear you and Felix are connected,” Jisung added under his breath, remembering he had a similar discussion with his roommate not even a week ago. Damn, was it that obvious?

The sun was setting by the time Jisung returned to his dorm with a caramel latte for his roommate. But as he stepped out of the elevator, he suddenly heard loud stomping.

Jisung tentatively walked over to his room - only to find the door opened a crack. The boy felt his heartbeat pick up. Felix said he had planned to study all afternoon - maybe he let Chijeu out and forgot to put her back?

His nerves started clouding his judgment as Jisung took off his jacket and placed the caramel latte on Felix’s desk. Where could she have -

“Ergh, come back!” The sudden voice made Jisung jump in his place. As footsteps grew louder, Chijeu’s fuzzy head peaked her way inside the dorm room, beelining straight to Jisung. “What did you do?” He asked as he picked up the mewing kitten.

Then he saw it. Right outside her crate was a small pile of boxers similar to the pair hanging out of the corner of her mouth.

“Alright, missy, you’re about to get it!” Jisung heard Minho exclaim as he stumbled into the dorm room. He had a hot pink rubber mouse in his hand and shocked expression on his face. “S-sorry, I didn’t know you got back, Jisung-ssi.”

Jisung felt his cheeks heat up as he plucked the boxers from Chijeu’s mouth. “I’m assuming this is yours then?” He offered, bending down to return to him the small pile of boxers from Chijeu’s collection. “Sorry about that.”

“Quite the hoarder you’ve got there. She’s lucky she’s cute,” Minho replied, tucking the bundle of underwear under his arm. “Well of course, she got it from somewhere,” Jisung teased, dramatically brushing back his hair. He noticed Minho’s eyes were lingering on his face.

"I'm honestly sorry about Chijeu, we honestly can't leave her alone for a second. I didn't even know how she got into your stuff, but I'm sure she's just playing around," Jisung began rambling an apology before suddenly gasping. Minho flinched before a smile stretched onto his face. "Oh my god, are you allergic?!"

Minho just chuckled, reaching out to hold Jisung's wrist in hopes of calming him down (the boy just froze). "Jisung-ah?" Jisung nodded in approval. "Don't worry about it - it's actually pretty funny," Minho reassured him, offering a small smile to calm the awkward boy. "But...if you really want to make it up to me, why don't we go out for a bite?"

"Woah, really? That sounds great!" Jisung's face lit up. "But, remember to bring something back for Chijeu," Minho added, crouching down to pet the kitten, who was lounging on Jisung's mattress. "Don't want her stealing more underwear."

"Or...maybe we do..."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Ah, nothing important."


End file.
